Soccer tryouts.. For many young players, this is an amazing opportunity to shine and get some spotlight in front of many coaches and scouts.
For others, this is a chance to get to a better club. Or even to any team whatsoever.
Regardless of which group you belong to, you’ll highly benefit from this guide.
Here’s a full summary of topics I will go through:
Let’s dive right into it!
If you’re going to soccer tryouts for the very first time, I know how 10 hours till start can be nerve-wracking.
You’re full of expectations and you have no idea what to expect.
Let me just tell you, that there’s absolutely nothing you should be afraid of. This is not some exam test in school, where when you make a mistake you get punished.
Think of it as a potential job interview. If you have a wrong day at soccer tryouts, it’s totally fine! There’s always another soccer tryout happening in the next town so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Go on tryouts with the mindset that you will meet some new amazing people and that you can learn something from them. This way it’s always a win-win situation for you in the end.
Try to stay calm and confident in yourself. You’re basically going to do what you do your whole life. Playing soccer.
I remember when I went on soccer tryouts for the first time. I was so nervous the day before, that I couldn’t sleep.
However, once I got there and training sessions started, I realized it’s not that much different from training practice with a team.
Now let’s talk about what to eat before tryouts, so you don’t starve to death.
First of all, it depends on the program. How many days you will be there? Is it only a 3-hour one-day tryout? Will there be any room for a quick snack?
From my personal experience, you should eat exactly what you are used to eating before a training session or soccer match.
One day before tryouts, try to have on your dinner carbohydrate-rich food like rice with chicken.
In the morning you can have some cereals or anything that is rich in carbohydrates.
60 minutes before the start I highly recommend you to eat some light snacks that will give you some more energy. The snack can be:
Don’t forget to get some fluids as well. Before and throughout soccer tryouts you can drink sports drinks. Really, it’s important to be well-hydrated before start.
Depending on your age, there will be enough pauses for drinking water, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Here’s a shortlist of things to wear and take with yourself assuming it’đ one-day tryout:
Depending on the terrain, you might want to take FG and SG. Just in case.
This depends on the rules and instructions of the soccer tryouts you’re going to. In case you’ll need them, it’s better to pack them with yourself.
This can be your team jersey or any other t-shirt. Just simply take anything you wear when playing soccer.
Pretty much self-explanatory.
Don’t forget to take a water bottle. I believe they will provide you with some water, but take it anyways. You can fill it with some sports drink, or just clean water.
On most of the soccer tryouts that take longer than 2 hours, there’s a pause. Usually long enough to recharge your batteries and get some quick energy. A protein bar should do the work.
Yeah, you need to carry things in something right? Trust me, you don’t want to be coming to tryouts with full hands when introducing yourself to coaches.
This is one of the most frequent questions people ask me about soccer tryouts.
What do coaches look for in soccer tryouts? Coaches look for agile, technical players that are having all the necessary skills to play soccer on a high level. Some of these skills are proper footwork, understanding of the game situations, passing, shooting, dribbling, and technique with the ball. As the last thing, they look for how well you can apply these skills in a real game under the pressure.
Do you wonder why most soccer tryouts start with simple exercises?
It’s because coaches need to determine your skill levels and then see how well you can apply them in your game.
You might struggle with footwork exercises, but on the other hand in a real game, you are a creative playmaker and score a lot of goals. And that’s what matters much more.
Not how much you can juggle a ball, but rather how many rights passes you can make out of 20.
Also, coaches look for specific characteristics that make great players.
Show that you are able to lead your team to win. That could mean proper communication on the field, calling out positive things loud and etc.
Also, did you notice that when there’s some new exercise, nobody wants to go first? That’s your time to shine!
Take some responsibility and show them that you are capable of being a leader. Go first and don’t be afraid to make a mistake if you didn’t understand the exercise. The second time you will do it right.
Everybody makes mistakes, okay? It’s totally fine to make a mistake. What is not fine is to get angry and sad about it.
We’re humans in the end and even the professional players are making mistakes.
The difference between the ones who are successful and those whore are not, is in the reaction to a mistake.
Show strong character and that you are not afraid to make a mistake. Take that risky shot, make that risky pass.
This is related to previous points. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and be confident in what you do.
If you are good at dribbling, show it! If you’re great at making long passes, do it!
There’s nothing better than to watch a soccer player that is enjoying all the exercises.
Even when things go bad, put a big smile on and keep your chin up!
I think I don’t need to remind you to work hard as you probably already do. Just the fact that you’re going on soccer tryouts proves that you’re willing to work on your skills.
Although, don’t underestimate this. Even when nobody's watching, always put in 100% you have. Because you never know when someone is.
Now let’s take a look on how you can stand out on soccer tryouts.
Previously we talked about what coaches do look for in soccer tryouts.
It’s nice to know, but wouldn’t be better to know how to actually make a good impression?
There are around 100-500 players at soccer tryouts, why should they notice me?
Let’s talk about this!
How to stand out at soccer tryouts? You can stand out at soccer tryouts by showing coaches that you are effective, reliable and creative soccer player. You don’t need to show off some fancy tricks. All you have to do is to have a character. Respect everyone, work really hard, ask questions and when it's game time, show them what you got.
You won’t stand out by showing your coaches some fancy tricks.
It all comes down to what they’re looking for. If you can apply all the fundamental skills under the pressure in a real game. That’s what matters.
Play to your strengths and you’ll be fine!
Also, having a very bold character really does help. What I mean by that is to be a leader and work really hard. Set up an example for everybody else. Trust me, coaches will instantly see it, because they have an eye for it.
Before the tryouts begin, feel free to say hi to coaches and have a “small talk”.
I was once at these tryouts in Europe and there were coaches from Aston Villa coaches. I was very young, but I remember there was one very nice coach from their academy. Instantly from the beginning we would juggle together at pauses, trying to nutmeg each other and all that soccer stuff. We tried to prove each other who can nutmeg more people and funny stuff like that.
This led to a really positive relationship and he started noticing me in a game. At the end of the soccer tryouts I was invited to Aston Villa and I had an amazing 3 days there with other two guys. Such an amazing experience and I’m grateful for that.
You see how far your character can take you?
However, there are some boundaries and I’ll tell you about them in the next section.
There are a few things you really don’t want to do at soccer tryouts. If you try to impress anyone too much, they’ll see it and it gives really strange “needy” vibes.
Definitely not a way to go.
Here’s a list of things to not do at soccer tryouts:
Of course, you want to impress coaches. That’s a goal so they can see how good you are. Yet, if you go into tryouts with this mindset, you might get too nervous and anxious.
It’s much better to go with a mindset of just improving your game, learning something new while playing soccer and then, as a bonus maybe get into the team.
Just don’t. If you can, come even 30 minutes early. It’s much better to get into soccer tryouts as calmly as possible, as opposed to being stressed and coming late.
One more thing. Ever heard of the first impression? Make sure it’s a positive one.
I’ve seen this so many times.
It can be very frustrating for you when a coach is watching and you just made a mistake. But you know what’s even worse about that? Being sad and angry about it.
Just allow yourself to make mistakes, it’s completely normal. Every professional soccer player makes mistakes all the time.
So it’s important that you react in a positive way and will work even harder on fixing it.
Just be as happy as you’re casually playing soccer on the street with your friends. It's as simple as that.
If something doesn’t go your way, don’t worry. It will!
Nobody wants a selfish player in their team.
Show that you actually can pass a ball. Of course, score as many goals as you can, but when you have an option to pass the ball, just pass it.
Soccer is a team game, and even the top strikers in the world know it. Check out this speech of Cristiano Ronaldo when they won Euro:
Now, as a very last thing for this article I put together this list of tips that you can immediately apply.
Here are the most important things that come to my mind, when it comes to giving you guys some simple tips for soccer tryouts:
These are in my opinion the most crucial tips, if you want to succeed at soccer tryouts.
But even if you don’t succeed, it’s totally fine.
There are 500 soccer players and it’s more than sure that someone just won’t have their best day. And that’s absolutely okay.
Failure is a stepping stone to success. Maybe it wasn’t your best performance, but next time it will!
Keep your chin up and keep working on your dreams, because it’s all possible!
Just imagine how it would feel to be a part of a professional soccer team. Imagine for a second your family congratulating you, celebrating with you!
Did you imagine that? If no, go and take a few minutes to do it. It's a really powerful technique.
If you do that, you will realize that it’s really possible and that if you can imagine that, you can have it. It will give you a lot of confidence into tryouts.
Soccer tryouts are an amazing place to get in a great team and if you have dedication and discipline, eventually you will succeed!
I wish you all the best!
Take care!
